The TigerLilly
by RainSpell
Summary: She was called the TigerLilly by the ward. All she wants is to fight, literally like a man. No, Lilly doesn't want to be in the Ranger Corps, she wants to be in the Battle school. What will fate do to this out of the ordinary girl? Most of the characters are made up, so if you don't like it, don't read. :) ON HIATUS! Sorry. I'm super busy and I'm not really getting much feedback.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, Rain here! This is probably going to be kind of a weird story, but read it anyway! I wrote it when I was in like, 4****th**** grade… so, yeah…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice, but I DO own some of the characters.**

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A soft, gentle rustle of leaves in the air above alerted what most of the Redmont Ward called, "The Tiger Lilly". She looked up from her sword practice, her keen eyes spotting the silhouette of a bird resting in the tree above her. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and resumed mock fighting; wielding the stick sword she whittled using her own two hands. The black-haired 15-year-old was determined to get into the Battleschool or at the very least, the Ranger Corps. Everyone said she should be in the Diplomatic area because of her skill in penmanship. She knew that nobody would find her in a dress against her will. The teenager looked at the trees' shadows, estimating that there was about five hours before sunrise. Alarmed, she quickly hid her sword and darted into the girls' dormitory.

"Lilly, is that you?" a sleepy voice whispered from the bed the sword fighter, Lilly, passed.

"Yeah, Anna. It's me; I just got back from practicing," Lilly replied in the same hushed tone as her friend.

Lilly knew her secret training was safe with her best friend, Anna. She slipped into her own bed, coincidentally right next to Anna's bed, and fell fast asleep.

All too soon, the sun peaked over the hills and a soft glow filled the room, coming from the window facing the east. Lilly rolled out of bed and got dressed, grimacing at the aches in her arms and legs. Anna slid onto Lilly bed.

"You know, you might get caught one of these days," she whispered.

"I know," Lilly answered simply.

She depended heavily on her skills to avoid being caught. If she was spotted, the guard might think of her as an enemy, because of her dark clothing and by the fact that she was breaking curfew. It was risky, but it was necessary if she were to gain entrance to Battleschool or the Ranger Corps. Lilly knew, via eavesdropping, what each teen in the ward wanted to do. Mary, a slightly shorter girl with rough hands and tanned skin, wanted to be in the Redmont Gardens. Anna had told Lilly personally that she wished to be a seamstress. Jacob, a strong, stocky, yet gentle young man, wanted to be with the Horse Master. Edric, a large, muscular boy, wanted to be a black smith. Lilly found it odd that she was the only one who wanted to be in the Battleschool. Usually, there was at least one boy who was admitted there.

The whole ward was nervous that evening at dinner because the following day was the day they would become an apprentice or a lowly farmer. Lilly was especially nervous. She couldn't sleep, so she went outside to practice fighting one last time.

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**So, how was it? Was it good, great, bad, or terrible? **

**Don't forget to review!**

**~*~Rain~*~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, Rain here! This is probably going to be kind of a weird story, but read it anyway! I wrote it when I was in like, 4****th**** grade… so, yeah…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice, but I DO own some of the characters.**

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When the ward woke up the next day, they quickly got dressed and were ready by the time Martin, the baron's secretary, shouted to them. Then they were off. **(A/N I decided to skip all the choosing day yadaya, so everyone but Lilly got their choice. She has to fight to prove she's worthy of being in the battle school. So, yeah. Sorry about the laziness. ****) **

"Crack, crack, crack, thud, crack, thud, thud, next!" The cracking of wooden swords, the thudding of wood-on-leather armor and the 'Next' from Sir Rodney calling the next student filled the air around the Battleschool. Lilly had been beaten a few times, but she won the majority of her battles. Finally, Sir Rodney called for a short break. Lilly, exhausted and sweaty, collapsed in the shade of an oak tree and quickly took off her hot armor. Her former ward mates crowded around the girl. Anna and Mary brought Lilly a glass of water and a small loaf of bread as snack. Lilly gave them a grateful smile and tore off a piece of bread.

"Where did you get this bread?" Lilly asked her friends.

"We stopped by Jenny's place on the way here. Don't worry, we told her that you said hi," Mary assured Lilly when she saw her question forming on Lilly's lips.

"Thanks a bunch. I have to practice again. My offensive skills aren't where I want them to be," Lilly said as she stood up and walked back towards the practice arenas.

Anna, Mary, Jacob and Edric looked at her in wonder; that girl never seemed to stop!

(Line Break)

Finally Sir Rodney gave Lily the answer she had been fighting quite literally for. The Battleschool would be accepting one girl into their ranks, and that would be Lilly.

Lilly admired the gown Anna and her mentor had created for the celebration that would be occurring soon. The celebration had been Princess Cassandra's idea since she was excited about a girl joining the Battlschool.

"This looks fantastic," Lilly breathed.

"Go in the back and try it on," Anna urged.

The two of them were alone in the shop, since the seamstress was out getting more supplies.

A few minutes later, Lilly emerged from the back of the shop with her new gown on. It was between turquoise and an icy blue, and the whole thing was modeled after a Courier's uniform. The design had been Anna's idea, since many thought Lilly would become a Courier.

"How much do I owe you?" Lilly questioned when she had her normal clothes on and the dress was on the counter.

"Nothing. Consider this as a gift from the seamstress and her apprentice."

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**So, how was it? Was it good, great, bad, or terrible? Tell me if you think I should put in little romance!**

**Don't forget to review! Constructive criticism is allowed.**

**~*~Rain~***


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, Rain here! This is probably going to be kind of a weird story, but read it anyway! I wrote it when I was in like, 4****th**** grade… so, yeah… From chapter 3 and on, it was all written kind of recently.**

**Sooooo sorry about not updating in like, a bajillion years. I had to re-type this not once, not twice, but THREE times! *sigh***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice, but I DO own some of the characters.**

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Lilly breathed a sigh of relief. The banquet was finally over and she could get some rest. It was fun to attend, but still zapped all the energy out of her. Lilly sighed and started up to her room. It was a guest room on the second floor, which Lilly had all to herself. **(I bet you know why she has her own room. n.n)**

It was just like any other guest room in the castle. Stone walls, a nice rug in the center, a bookshelf, a small table, a desk and chair, one window overlooking the training grounds, and a draped off room containing the bathroom, Lilly's bed, a dresser, a closet, and another window. Right in front of the window was, to Lilly's luck, a rather large branch connected to a rather large tree. Since she was on the taller side, she could easily climb the tree to get in and out of her room. She just had to remember to close the window when now in use.

"Really, now," Lilly asked herself as she realized, just as she got to her door, that is was locked and the key was inside the room. Good thing she kept a change of clothes in a hidden room she found at the base of the tree. It looked like she would be needing it.

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Anna looked up from her word as the door opened; letting in a warm, summer air and three boys. From what they were wearing, she guessed that they were from the Battleschool.

"You're Anna, Lilly's friend, right?" The taller one, and probably the leader, asked.

"If you mean Lilly Carter, yes," Anna replied. These boys seemed nice, and Anna assumed that Lilly made some friends already.

"So, I'm Jeremy, this is Ralf, and this is Ryan. We were wondering if you knew how Lilly got so good at sword fighting. We were going to get something to remind her of whatever she did to get so good. Besides, she won't tell us," Jeremy said with a friendly smile.

Anna smiled back and said, "Don't tell anyone this, okay?"

"The secret is safe with us," was the tall blond-haired boy's reply.

"She would practice by using a stick and would sneak out into the forest every night."

With that, the boys thanked her and left the store.

"They seem like nice people," Anna said to herself as she returned to her work.

She didn't know just how wrong she was.

Lilly walked out to the tree and dropped into the little room. Working quickly, she took off her dress and carefully folded it and then donned her spare pants and shirt. Checking to make sure the coast was clear, Lilly climbed out from the base of the tree and started scaling it. Once she reached the branch outside her window, she quietly opened it and slipped inside her room. The gown Anna made was placed into the closet and the night clothes in the dresser weren't even taken out. Lilly was too tired, and just barely managed to make a note to return the spare clothes before her head hit her pillow and she fell asleep.

The next day, Sir Rodney gave Lilly an assignment do work on. She had to go around the town and fill in what each Craftmaster did, but she had to actually ask them. The only way she could leave it blank was if the Craftmaster was busy and she got a signature from one of the apprentices. She had her work cut out for her. Taking a good guess that she would return after lunch, she decided to eat at Jenny's. Making a mental checklist of what she would have to bring, she started gathering materials. Lilly took a pad of paper, a charcoal pencil that Sir Rodney provided, and the breakfast that was dropped off at her room. Before she left, Lilly took the spare clothes and returned them to her hiding place and was finally off. Since it would take a great deal of walking, she stopped by the stables to get her horse.

She had found it about two years ago, starving and afraid of humans. Lilly found it in an abandoned hunter's hut close to where she trained. Slowly but surely, Lilly gained it's trust and nursed it back to health. But one day, she visited it during the day to give it exercise and was discovered. Lilly was required to give the horse over to Ulf, the Horsemaster, and she never thought she would see it again. However, once she went with Sir Rodney to the stables to get her a horse, there it was. Ulf was going to give it to Jacob, his most recent apprentice, but he insisted on giving it to Lilly. She never named the horse while caring for it, fearing that she would get too attached. But now, it was named Sky's the Limit, or Sky for short. The mare was a light brown, almost cream colored, and had a metallic sheen to her coat. **(A/N Sky's an Akhal Teke, look it up, they're really cool! This picture is what Sky looks like. . /wbs14/blogs/equine_ ) **

Now Lilly was one only people who could ride Sky. When she got to the barn, she found Sky already tacked up and ready, with a note from Jacob. He had heard that Lilly would be needing her horse, so he got the mare ready for her. Lilly added a note in her head to thank Jacob before the day was over. Then, not wanting to waste anymore time, she packed all her supplies into her saddlebag and set off, deciding to pay Anna a visit and start with the seamstress.

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**So, how was it? Was it good, great, bad, or terrible? **

**Review replies!**

**Ranger Robbin- Thanks for the great ideas! She will go into the Ranger Corps, but not permanentally. She'll go to Will first, then he will transfer her to Gilan. :)**

**J.D- Thanks for all the support!**

**Writingnerd291- Thanks! I'll try. My summer's been kind of busy. (Okay, like really busy.)**

**ealen miluna- I'll try!**

**asdasdasd-Okay... If you don't like those kinds of stories, don't read them. It clearly (or I think it's clear) states that Lilly wants to go the Battleschool. It's also not like I'm a proffecional writer or something. I don't have hours and hours to write fanfiction stories. So, sorry, I guess. Oh yeah, horrible wasn't an option. It was good, great, bad or terrible. :)**

**Don't forget to review! Constructive criticism is allowed.**

**~*~Rain~***


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